What Is the Glycemic Index?
The Glycemic Index or GI, for short--is a system that ranks foods by how they affect your blood sugar levels. Low-glycemic index foods (less than 55) produce a gradual rise in blood sugar levels that's easy on the body. Foods between 55 and 70 are intermediate-glycemic index foods.
Foods with high-glycemic index numbers (more than 70) make blood sugar levels as well as insulin levels spike fast. We now realize that's a health threat.
What are the Benefits of the Glycemic Index?
Eating a lot of high GI foods can be detrimental to your health because it pushes your body to extremes. This is especially true if you are overweight and sedentary. Switching to eating mainly low GI carbs that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream keeps your energy levels balanced and means you will feel fuller for longer between meals.
- Low GI diets help people lose and control weight
- Low GI diets increase the body's sensitivity to insulin
- Low GI carbs improve diabetes control
- Low GI carbs reduce the risk of heart disease
- Low GI carbs reduce blood cholesterol levels
- Low GI carbs can help you manage the symptoms of PCOS
- Low GI carbs reduce hunger and keep you fuller for longer
- Low GI carbs prolong physical endurance
- High GI carbs help re-fuel carbohydrate stores after exercise
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How to Switch to a Low GI Diet
The basic technique for eating the low GI way is simply a "this for that" approach - ie, swapping high GI carbs for low GI carbs. You don't need to count numbers or do any sort of mental arithmetic to make sure you are eating a healthy, low GI diet.
- Use breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
- Use breads with wholegrains, stone-ground flour, sour dough
- Reduce the amount of potatoes you eat
- Enjoy all other types of fruit and vegetables
- Use Basmati or Doongara rice
- Enjoy pasta, noodles, quinoa
- Eat plenty of salad vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing
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Glycemic index of foods
GI values can be interpreted intuitively as percentages on an absolute scale and are commonly interpreted as follows:
| Classification |
GI range |
Examples |
| Low GI |
55 or less |
most fruit and vegetables (except potatoes, watermelon and sweet corn), wholegrains, beans, lentils |
| Medium GI |
56 - 69 |
sucrose, croissant, basmati rice, brown rice |
| High GI |
70 or more |
corn flakes, baked potato, some white rices (e.g. jasmine), white bread, pasta, candy bar |
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